Discusses various uses of testing in language teaching as well as testing that occurs in normal language use. (RM)

A brief comparison of secondary school examination methods in England and the Federal Republic of Germany is made. The Abitur, or examination for the leaving certificate of the German grammar school, is explained, and an Abitur and its results at the German School, the Hague, 1974, are described. (RM)

A study examined dimensions of oral proficiency curriculum and testing (OP) in American colleges and universities for the purpose of appraising the implementability of educational policy derived from them. The framework used for this policy analysis looks at the system environment, demands and resources, the process that converts demands into…

A study addressed issues of concern in the use of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)/Educational Testing Service (ETS) Language Proficiency Guidelines commonly used in determination of oral language proficiency. Specifically, potential discrepancies between the judgments of trained raters and "naive" native…

This question book was developed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be used by FAA testing centers and FAA-designated written test examiners when administering the flight engineer written test. The book can be used to test applicants in the following flight engineer knowledge areas: basic, turbojet powered, turbopropeller powered, and…

A discussion of the new Sri Lankan General Certificate of Education (GCE) O-Level standardized test of English focuses on how new ideas in testing have been implemented in the test and on their effect on classroom practice and the quality of English instruction. The discussion begins with a brief outline of the history and context in which the new…

Because the language of a multiple choice test is formal and often unfamiliar, certain linguistic features may lead a test-taker to misconstrue the test instructions, questions, or answers. When this happens, a shared understanding of meaning between tester and test-taker is not present, and the test results are invalid. Although this problem…

Over the past few years a substantial body of research has yielded evidence that the semantic structure of elementary arithmetic word problems influences children's strategies to solve them. The study reported in this document considered three other task characteristics in addition to semantic structure: (1) the order of presentation of the two…

This bibliography identifies reports of research on correlates, causes, effects, and treatment of test anxiety. The listing was developed for a synthesis of research, performed by meta-analysis at Adrian College, Michigan in 1986-87. Guidelines for including studies were applied as follows: (1) the research concerned academic test anxiety, using…

This study surveys recent literature on education in Japan to determine what elements of the Japanese educational system could be incorporated into America's pedagogical system. There are four sections with the following titles: (1) What comparisons are being made between Japanese and American students in achievement and IQ tests scores? (2) How…

Following a brief overview of literature on excellence in the classroom, the shortcomings of objective tests as means for evaluating classroom excellence are discussed as well as the need for evaluation alternatives. Descriptions are given of evaluation alternatives, some of which focus upon reading and writing achievement: (1) observation of…

Results are presented of a nationwide telephone survey of 1,200 adults --conducted from November 1984 to January 1985--that examined the public's response to secondary school reform. The public wants greater student accountability, greater teacher initiative and accountability, and upgraded curricula. Ninety-five percent of the respondents…

This paper examines key points to consider in developing policy on teacher testing. A summary is presented of the four underlying purposes that may be served, in part, by testing: (1) limiting the number of incompetent teachers; (2) encouraging teacher professionalism; (3) promoting public confidence in teachers; and (4) promoting excellence in…

The summary descriptions of state programs in compensatory education (SCE) contained in this report update information presented in the 1981 Bay Area Research Group (BARG) report. A more restrictive definition of compensatory education is used in this current report, whereby only programs in which a specific target population is named and in which…